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Leaders and senior officials from economies across the Asia-Pacific region are g
Leaders and senior officials from economies across the Asia-Pacific region are gathering in Shenzhen, China on 18 and 19 November for the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. China, as host, has set the gathering's theme as "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," and several hundred preparatory events have already taken place across Chinese cities throughout the year. A CEO summit expected to bring together around a thousand political and business representatives runs alongside the leaders' meeting. APEC encompasses economies that together account for a substantial portion of global trade and output; its meetings are regularly used as settings for bilateral conversations between leaders who lack other formal channels. This year's gathering comes amid continuing debate about trade flows, supply-chain reconfiguration and the economic implications of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. What do you think multilateral economic forums can achieve that individual countries negotiating alone cannot?